Nigel Culkin

An emotional business : a guide to understanding the motivations of small business decision takers

Argues that the way in which the UK Government, through its various departments and quangos, approaches designed to approve the effectiveness of the small business sector, is based on a flawed understanding of how small businesses actually operate. Argues that this naive, over‐simplistic understanding of the motivation of those in the small business sector means that many government interventions that are made, are blunt instruments destined to fail, given the limited understanding shown of the complexity of the small business market. Presents evidence from two recent studies amongst small firms; a series of large‐scale qualitative studies undertaken for a blue chip company and a mixed study on the Business Link network. The emphasis is based on – using qualitative research – getting to grips with the emotion, ambiguity and complexity that characterises this market.

From London to Los Angeles: a comparison of local labour market processes in the US and UK film industries

Addressing the issue of the embeddedness of labour markets, this paper compares the processes of finding employment in the film industry within two local labour markets. Drawing on studies of freelance film crews in London (UK) and Los Angeles (US), the paper concludes that the importance of social networks in job mobility in both contexts is a consequence of common production structures. However, common labour market practice varies in each geographical space as industry processes and structures are mediated by local institutional contexts.

Meeting the information needs of marketing in the twenty‐first century

Addresses the question of whether ‐ now that we exist in the much heralded “information era” ‐ the information needs of those engaged in marketing are being satisfied. With interest in the Internet, as a burgeoning global communications medium, we now understand how things might be in the future concerning the sheer volume of information available to the marketing decision maker. However, a question remains as to whether this information is collected and presented in a form ‐ at a level of specificity and depth ‐ that makes for better marketing decision making. In this paper, the authors argue that there are 12 issues that need addressing in order to ensure that the information needs of marketers are being satisfied.

Digital Cinema Opportunities and Challanges

While the process of distributing and exhibiting a film has changed little over the past century, Digital Cinema, the process of using digitally stored data instead of strips of acetate, has arrived. With technology continuing to develop it is expected that d-cinema will overtake the quality of conventional cinema has within the next two years. This paper considers how the film industry might effect the transition from film to digital product.

Making sense of information: a new role for the marketing researcher?

Addresses the question of whether the information needs of those engaged in marketing management are being delivered satisfactorily by information providers. It is plainly evident that the use of the Internet and the intranet as global communication tools has risen exponentially over the past two years. However, a question remains as to whether this information is collected and presented in a form – at a level of specificity and depth – that makes for better decision taking. Today there is talk of the analyst – in this case the market researcher – requiring the skills of the “bricoleur”. This refers to the need in today’s world of multi‐source imperfect data of being able to piece together different weights and hues of evidence. While we acknowledge evidence exists of good practice, we believe that more needs to be done to provide practical training on how to operate in this bricolage mode, if we are to keep on top of twenty‐first century marketing information. Argues that there are seven issues that need addressing in order to ensure that the information needs of management are being satisfied by the market researcher.

Human factors in business-to-business research over the internet

This paper explores the problems and challenges surrounding the conduct of research via the internet among business audiences and highlights the great potential that exists for business-to-business research over the net. It also identifies some of the main obstacles to researching in this way, and examines the factors which cause them.

Beyond being a student

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore, evaluate and share the motivations and behaviours of student and graduate entrepreneurs (referred to as SGSUs) operating from university incubators. The study aims to understand the behaviours and motivations of SGSUs to build on the existing literature and contribute towards a discussion around support services for university incubation centres.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence is presented from an online survey of 100 SGSUs from a sample of university incubators across the UK. The results were analysed using the data analysis software package SPSS. The results of open‐ended questions were analysed manually.Findings – The current research reveals a series of contrasting engagements towards and within the university incubator space. A better understanding of user expectations and motivations is needed in order to develop better services and support system within which SGSUs can develop.Practical implications – The outcomes could have practi...